The technology relates, for example, to an image forming apparatus suitable for a printer such as a page printer that performs printing on a long print medium, such as continuous paper or roll paper.
Examples of an image forming apparatus include a page printer that is enabled to perform continuous printing of a plurality of pages with the use of a long print medium, such as continuous paper or roll paper. Typically, an existing image forming apparatus of this type performs printing while conveying a continuous print medium, and once printing starts, the image forming apparatus is unable to stop the conveyance of the print medium during printing. Therefore, when the supply of image data fails to catch up during printing, a blank page may be output between a print page and another print page, or an overrun may be detected at a position irrelevant to a dividing position in the continuous printing, which may cause the image forming apparatus to enter an error state and to become unable to continue with the printing. Accordingly, in a case where a print job that includes print data corresponding to a plurality of pages is to be executed, typically, such print control is carried out in which print data corresponding to all of the pages is edited and expanded into image data for printing and printing starts being executed after generation of image data corresponding to all of the pages is completed.
For example, reference is made to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2011-062979.